Tyler Farrar repeats win in Hamburg Vattenfall Cyclassics

Tyler Farrar sprinted right through the middle of the finishing straight in the Hamburg Vattenfall Cyclassics to beat Edvald Boasson Hagen and André Greipel. The Garmin rider repeated his sprint from last year in dominating fashion. The race was marked by a five-man break that developed at kilometer two. The last three riders were caught seven kilometers from the finish.

Team Sky looked to be in control of the sprint and put Boasson Hagen into a perfect spot, unlike Greipel. The German was boxed in as the sprinters surged for the line. He had to move to the left and accelerated hard again, but it was too late. At the same time Boasson Hagen couldn't hold his advantage against the powerful Farrar, who had the higher end speed.

Sky Sports Director Rod Ellingworth was still happy with the day. "We wanted to take the initiative all day - we believed in Edvald and knew he had good form after his win on Friday." The Norwegian won the Dutch Food Valley Classic two days ago. "So we didn't compromise with what we wanted to do and the guys led the race very, very well."

The Sky team tried to keep things together at the Waseberg climb - to be done four times - which worked for the most part. "Mathew Hayman did a great job as captain on the road and right throughout the team they did everything they could for Edvald. For example, Kurt-Asle Arvesen volunteered himself to do a lot of the early work - he did pretty much the same on Friday too - and Edvald was super-happy with the whole team," Ellingworth said.

Greipel admitted that not following sprint coach Erik Zabel's advise may have cost him the race. "At the home race I wanted to win of course," Greipel said to Radsport News. "Now I have to be contend with a podium finish. Unfortunately I launched my sprint on the wrong side of the road. Erik Zabel gave me the tip to sprint on the right hand side. It is too bad I couldn't follow his advise. I was left and that was the wrong side." When Greipel tried to get through, going to the left was his only option.

Boasson Hagen is the defending champion at the Eneco Tour and that's next on the agenda now for him.

An early break

Nikolai Trusov (Katusha), Sebastian Lang (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Gatis Smukulis (AG2R La Mondiale), Anthony Geslin (Française des Jeux) and Robin Chaigneau (Skil Shimano) formed the break of the day already in the first couple of kilometers. Their maximum advantage was 16'30.

When the race went though the finish area for the first time, with 63km remaining, the gap was 7'47. The second time up the Waseberg, the 17-percent climb to be done four times, Lang and Chaigneau were dropped. Trusov was first over the top both the second and third time on the Waseberg, which gave him the KOM title (the fourth time over the top, with less than 16km remaining, did not count for the mountains classification).

With 28km to go, at that third climb of the Waseberg, the gap of Trusov, Smukulis and Geslin was down to under three minutes.

The lead trio made it over the top of the final climb of the Waseberg about a half minute ahead of the peloton, with less than 16km remaining. Philippe Gilbert attacked, followed by Filippo Pozzato and Peter Sagan. It started to rain which made the final kilometers in Hamburg slippery and treacherous.

The trio around Gilbert came to within 15 seconds of the leaders, but were swallowed up by the peloton before they could merge with the break of the day. The latter extended their lead again, keeping 27 seconds with 10km to go. Seven kilometers from the line, Trusov, Smukulis and Geslin were caught.

With less than six kilometers to go, German champion Christian Knees and Martin Elmiger escaped, never having a big lead. But they profited from the wet streets to keep their gap at a handful seconds. There was a crash in the first third of the peloton with a little more than three kilometers to go. Elmiger was caught just after the two-kilometer marker, leaving the scene to the sprinters.